Ventura County sees drop in home sales, prices from October to November

Home sales declined this month in Ventura County but the area still suffers from a shortage of housing. Some of that will be helped by new apartments being built by the Fore Property Co. at Springville Drive and Camino Tierra.(Photo: JUAN CARLO/THE STAR)Buy Photo

Home sales might not have completely frozen during the end of the fall season, but Ventura County saw a drop in both home sales and median sale prices from October to November.

There were 703 home sales in Ventura County at a median sale price of $575,000 in November, according to a Thursday report from CoreLogic, an Irvine-based firm that tracks the housing industry. That is an 18.5 percent decrease in sales from October, when 863 homes were sold in the county. The median sale price also dropped by 3.4 percent from October’s $595,000 median.

Although Ventura County had the sharpest decline in month-to-month sales of all the counties cited in the CoreLogic report, the county’s smaller size often makes its data more volatile.

All six Southern California counties cited in the report saw a decline in home sales from October to November. Southern California saw a 10.7 percent decrease in sales during that period, although that is typical. Since 1988, the average change in sales between October and November has been a decline of 8.5 percent, according to CoreLogic data. Home sales also declined year-over-year in the region, although prices increased.

Like Ventura County, Southern California overall saw a decline in median sale prices from October to November. Southern California had a $522,750 median home sale price in November, a 0.4 percent decrease from October’s $525,000.

Home sales also have decreased in the longer term, although median sale prices have continued to steadily rise. Southern California’s median sale price last month was 3.5 percent higher than November 2017’s $505,000 median. Meanwhile, Southern California saw a 12.3 percent decrease in home sales from November 2017, when 19,575 homes were sold.

Southern California’s year-to-year decline in home sales could be due to the region’s growing affordability issues, according to CoreLogic analyst Andrew LePage.

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Fore Property Co., which has offices in Santa Barbara, is building 104-unit affordable apartment complex for seniors in Camarillo.

“Last month’s 12 percent year-over-year drop in home sales marked the second largest decline in more than four years, behind a nearly 18 percent decrease this September,” LePage said in a statement. “Higher mortgage rates worsened affordability constraints this year, and in recent months, stock market volatility could have contributed to the high-end pullback. Market corrections can spook high-end buyers and leave some with inadequate funds” to cover down payment and closing costs.

That said, Ventura County saw an uncharacteristic drop in year-to-year median sale prices. Last month’s median home sale price was 0.9 percent lower than November 2017’s $580,000. Still, the county saw a 9.5 percent drop in sales from November 2017’s 777 homes sold.

Orange County’s median home price last month was $719,000, followed by Los Angeles County at $600,000, Ventura County at $575,000, San Diego County at $565,000, Riverside County at $395,000 and San Bernardino County at $330,000.